Sierra Nevada, Aaron Rodgers, NVCF Camp Fire relief funds combined

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North Valley Community Foundation President and CEO Alexa Benson-Valavanis in the foundation’s new office overlooking Thrid Street between Main Street and Broadway in downtown Chico. – Dan Reidel ­— Enterprise-Record

CHICO — The North Valley Community Foundation announced on Wednesday a joining of forces with two other major players raising money for Camp Fire recovery.

The foundation, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., and the Aaron Rodgers NorCal Fire Recovery Fund are combining fundraising efforts to maximize their impact on the community. Jointly they have formed the Butte Strong Fund.

“We all want to maximize the role of philanthropy within the recovery effort,” said Alexa Benson-Valavanis, president and CEO of the foundation, in an interview Wednesday.

“If you’re looking at a $16 billion recovery effort price tag, the role of philanthropy is going to be very narrow and small in scope,” Benson-Valavanis said. “But it can be effective if we do it together.”

The fire, which began near Pulga on Nov. 8, became the most destructive wildfire in state history. At least 86 people died. Nearly 19,000 homes, businesses and other buildings were destroyed, and tens of thousands of people were displaced.

Through the Butte Strong Fund, nonprofits and other entities will be able to apply for grants focused on six areas, including: housing; children and youth services; health and wellness; education; community development; and business recovery.

The North Valley Community Foundation is looking to fill gaps in support from the state and federal governments. One priority is addressing the need for housing, particularly workforce housing, Benson-Valavanis said. The foundation is currently scoping out viable locations throughout the region for temporary housing, she said.

“You have people that have jobs and are completely capable, able and wanting to stay here, ’cause this is their home, and they don’t have a place to live,” Benson-Valavanis said.

The combining of the three funds into one should make applying for grant money simpler for organizations looking to finance projects to help survivors. Nonprofits and other entities — not individuals — are eligible to apply.

The Butte Strong Fund will include approximately $25 million from the foundation and up to $3 million from the Aaron Rodgers NorCal Fire Recovery Fund, Benson-Valavanis said. She didn’t have an estimate for what would be coming from Sierra Nevada, but noted that approximately $15 million had been raised through the brewery’s Resilience fund.

Sierra Nevada is committed to being a “key founder” of the Butte Strong Fund, she said. It is up to the three individual organizations to determine how much to donate, and to which project proposals. But it will all be under the umbrella of the Butte Strong Fund.

To address immediate needs of survivors, the foundation allocated more than $1.3 million for direct relief such as gift cards and emergency shelter.

Sierra Nevada offered free meals to evacuees and first responders. Then it launched a long-term fundraising campaign. It enlisted over 1,400 breweries to brew Resilience Butte County Proud IPA, and donated all of the proceeds to its fire relief fund.

“The support of our global brewing industry has allowed us to support our Butte County community,” said Sierra Grossman, vice president and head of corporate and social responsibility at Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. “It’s been heartwarming to see the light of the human spirit shine through even the darkest of hours.”

Rodgers, the Green Bay Packers quarterback and two-time NFL Most Valuable Player from Chico, seeded his own fund with $1 million.

The North Valley Community Foundation is in this for the long haul. Benson-Valavanis said she expected the Butte Strong Fund to exist for 3-5 years, and that another $50 million for additional recovery projects would be raised in that time frame.

“At the end of the day, we have to stick together to get through this,” she said.

For more information about the Butte Strong Fund, including details on the upcoming grant process, see buttestrongfund.org. Grant requests will be considered by a committee of local stakeholders and leaders.

Risa Johnson covers the city of Chico, local politics and general news for the Chico Enterprise-Record and Oroville Mercury-Register newspapers. She has written extensively about the Oroville Dam crisis. She is a proud alumna of Chico State University. Reach her at 530-896-7763.